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On April 8th, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice affirmed a $1,500 damages award for a privacy breach that entailed the disclosure of information that the defendant received because she was the plaintiff’s social media friend.

The plaintiff and defendant were pilots who worked for the same airline. The plaintiff shared his work schedule with the defendant though an application that allowed him to share his information with “friends” for the purpose of mitigating the demands of travel. The airline also maintained a website that made similar information available to employees. The defendant obtained the schedule information through one or both of these sites and shared it with the plaintiff’s estranged wife.

There are a number of good issues embedded in this scenario. Is a work schedule, in this context, personal information? Does one have an expectation of privacy in information shared in this context? Does the intrusion upon seclusion tort proscribe a disclosure of personal information?

The appeal judgement is rather bottom line. In finding the plaintiff had a protectable privacy interest, the Court drew significance from the airline’s employee privacy policy. It said:

The policy of Air Canada, that must be followed by all employees, emphasises the privacy rights of the employees. This policy specifically prohibits any employee from disseminating personal information of another employee to third parties without express permission of the other employee. The sharing of personal information between employees is clearly restricted for work related purposes only. Permission to review and obtain this information is not given unless it is for work related purposes. If the information is reviewed and used for any other purpose, this results in conduct that constitutes an intentional invasion of the private affairs or concerns. In addition, I find that a reasonable person would regard this type of invasion of privacy as highly offensive and causing distress, humiliation and anguish to the person.

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